30 July 2007

Mikhail Gobachev for Louis Vuitton

Following in the footsteps of über-hip fashionistas such as Pharrell Williams and Jennifer Lopez, Mikhail S. Gorbachev becomes the latest high-profile model for Louis Vuitton. The half-page ad featuring the last president of the Soviet Union appears in the September Vogue and was lensed by Annie Leibovitz.

Eric Wilson, one of the top fashion writers at The New York Times, previews the new promotional campaign by the luxury goods brand which hopes "to emphasize the company’s heritage in luggage and travel accessories." Other celebrities include "Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf cuddling in a hotel room, their bags not yet unpacked; Catherine Deneuve resting on a trunk in front of a steaming locomotive; and Mr. Gorbachev in the back of a car with a duffel bag on the seat next to him. Of the group, Mr. Gorbachev appears the least comfortable. He is holding on to a door handle, as if the bag contained polonium 210."